49ers & Eagles No Longer Undefeated | Bills Offensive Issues | Cowboys Impress

NFL Week 6 saw the 49ers and Eagles go down, leaving us with no undefeated team left in the league. The New York Jets and Cleveland Browns delivered huge upsets and we discuss the implication for each team.

After Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills narrowly escaped with a win over the New York Giants, is it time to worry about their offensive issues?
We also discuss whether the Bengals are back and if Justin Herbert is ever going to take that next step.

ALL LINKS:
https://sportsbluff.buzzsprout.com/
------------
YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQfr0YJ9O-1GCJt3xlh9P5g
------------
FOLLOW US:

https://twitter.com/sportsbluffpod

https://www.instagram.com/sportsbluff/

https://www.tiktok.com/@sportsbluff
------------

Transcript

What's up? Welcome to Sports Bluff. We are a day late and a dollar short, probably more than that after some of my gambling decisions this week, but we're back with you as always. I'm your host Tristan Bunn alongside my friend, my confidant, my fellow football fool, the knee-jerk ninja himself, Ryan Lambert, fresh off a Monday night football game that saw the Cowboys and Chargers duel it out in what turned out to be kind of a defensive game.
It was probably the game of the week. I'm glad we waited and watched it because that one was exciting. and I had a lot of fun with it. I think it was the best game of the week. Probably so. I think so. It was definitely the most entertaining. Yes. purposes it was now when it first came on the first two drives Both teams scored a touchdown or close to the first two drives and I texted you and I said well This is gonna be an offensive shootout and then the defense said no. No, it's not both teams defenses stepped up and You know, they played really tough the entire night lots of penalties to lots of penalties of penalties. I think there were 20 penalties total 11 on the Cowboys and 9 on the Chargers I will say most of them were Good though like there might have been a couple that were bad But I know egregious one stands out in my mind my big takeaway from The Cowboys Chargers games Cowboys obviously held on to win at 20 to 17 They moved to four and two Chargers dropped a two and three with a date with Kansas City looming where you and I will be attending My takeaway from this game is Justin Herbert isn't as good as everyone wants him to be. Now, he is still very good, but it feels like he hasn't improved in the way you expect a quarterback to. He started off the bench unexpectedly his rookie season and went toe to toe with Mahomes, and we were all like, oh okay, this kid can play. and he really hasn't gone past that point. And tonight, the numbers don't look bad, but I really put this loss on him. I think he played poorly. Yes, the box score says he doesn't, but this is why you watch the football games. He missed a couple huge passes. He missed two touch, what would be touchdown passes, I think to Keenan Allen, and that one, they ended up scoring on, but he was late on his read to the flat, which would have been a go-ahead touchdown. He ended up getting it later, but I thought he struggled. And on the other side of the ball, Dak Prescott looked good. He was a little late on some of his reads, but it looked more like the younger Dak. He was using his legs to make plays. He was rolling outside of the pocket, keeping the play alive, finding somebody downfield because he was pressured a ton. He was sacked, I think, five times. Justin Herbert has never taken that second step that maybe even like a Trevor Lawrence has. I... I wonder if we're ever going to see that and I wonder if we start to see the collective football world start to acknowledge that maybe we don't just keep lumping Herbert in with these upper echelon of quarterbacks. I'm kind of, I guess I'm kind of impartial, either which way, because I can see, I thought that having Kellen Moore come in here was gonna change things a little bit for Herbert. I really did. I thought it would maybe open up his game a little bit more and kind of expose some of the weaknesses before Kellen Moore came onto the team, but it hasn't. And I mean, he was playing with a broken finger tonight. I get it. but it was on a non-throwing hand. Really all that should affect is the way he falls, the way he runs and things like that. It shouldn't really affect his throwing game too much. He made some throws though that was like, okay, well that's like top level throws. Like there were a couple of them where he fit it in a real tight window and you're like, wow, okay. So he can make those throws. But then there was those obvious just complete misreads or. Completely overthrown balls too high too low. It was very sloppy. It looked more like a rookie performance than a Guy who's been in the league for what three four years now? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's what I'm saying. It's not like he was bad. Obviously, he's a really good quarterback. Obviously, he's very talented, but he gets mentioned as a top-five quarterback. He gets put with, you know, right underneath Mahomes and Burrow and Trevor Lawrence and Trevor Lawrence beat him in that playoff game. You know, he just he hasn't taken that step that I feel like he should take so we might need to start pumping the brakes and just reanalyzing how we talk about Herbert because even though his stats aren't bad, like you said, there were a couple crucial I just don't think he played particularly well. He played like a B plus game. Yeah, but you and I have both said that, you know, when you talk about the top three quarterbacks, there's a pretty huge drop off after those three to number four. And so, I don't want to... I don't want to react too harshly just on this game. I know there's been several other games where you still question that. But until you get out from the Brandon Staley umbrella, I just, I really don't know that we'll ever see the full potential of Justin Herbert. I don't know what it is, but I just don't, I don't like Brandon Staley. I've made it very clear on this podcast that I do not care for him and I think until you get out from under That coaching mentality whatever hold he has on this team You're not really gonna see Justin Herbert to his full potential Now what I will say on the other side of the ball to switch gears a little bit The guy who made the play of the game was none other than Micah Parsons Dallas's defense performed really well tonight without vendor ash Vendor Lash, however you say his last name, because of the neck injury, right? That was kind of a big question. Like how would Micah Parsons step up to the plate and do even more than he's usually expected to do? And it took him a while tonight, but he finally got there and they started putting pressure and he really kind of sealed the deal tonight. So kudos to the Dallas defense. And like you said, the offense performed pretty well too. a lot younger than we've seen him play in quite some time. Yeah, they weren't able to run the ball at all, really neither team. Austin Eckler only had 27 yards on 14 carries. Pollard had 30 yards on 15 carries. Dack had the biggest run of the night on that read option where he kept it for the touchdown. It was really, Pollard had that big play for the pass where Dack found him when he was scrambling right, but it was really the two quarterbacks going at it and the defense keeping the teams in the game. And so many points left on the field. I really- The Chargers have to be kicking themselves at the end and it was gonna be like this either way because both teams went for it on fourth down in the red zone like multiple times instead of taking field goals. The whole analytics thing really kind of gets on my nerves sometimes. When you're in a game where your defense is playing well and you're going back and forth, just take the points. They're passing up on points over and over and over again. It's so funny that you and I are such factual type people and statistic type people like we think there's an answer Behind every question and we don't like being emotionally driven however in games I Think coaches should do what they think is best in the moment I don't I get that little statistic out of your ear. Don't listen to what these Guys behind a keyboard have said you should do what? 20 or 30 years of coaching says you should do here. But that's it. And that plays on a broader point, which is analytics, I like poker, and it's similar to poker. Poker is now played really with GTO, which is what's called game theory optimal. I'm not gonna get too in depth on it, but basically Texas Hold'em has been figured out to where there are mathematical plays that if you play this over the course of thousands of hands, you will net positive. That's great. That's what analytics are. But a coach, you're not making that decision a thousand times. You're making that decision right now in this game against this opponent. Yeah, if I'm going to be here for 20 years and I get to be in that decision, over the long haul, my fourth down decisions might turn out okay. But it takes the gut feel out of it, which on the surface might sound silly, but as you said, you should be more... I don't even want to use the word emotional, but your gut feeling should... dictate what you do, how your team's playing, other things go into it besides, hey, if you do it a thousand times this way, it'll work out for you. Well, I've gotta do it right, right now, on Monday Night Football and Primetime or my season's over, you know? So I agree, I think both teams left a lot of points on the board, but Dallas needed this victory, bad, to recover from the San Francisco disaster. Micah Parsons did show up late with that late sack, that was good, Dak Prescott I thought played really well. Dallas defense was decent, not great, Justin Herbert, I think, kind of let the Chargers down overall, but it was a really good game to watch, a fun game, and I think Dallas is going to be able to turn the ship around and get their mindset right because they've got to buy next week, whereas the Chargers, on the other hand, they've got to go play Kansas City, and they really, yeah, they need to win that one because if they lose to Kansas City, they're 2-4 and falling fast in the playoff picture. Well, we'll get to see how that goes but you did mention Dallas does have a bye next weekend boy Do they need it because they come back into a whirlwind of games and with the likes of the Eagles the Rams You got the Seahawks the Eagles again the Bills the Dolphins the Lions I mean they have a very tough schedule up ahead. So they need this by week to rest recuperate Really? I don't I don't really know what you would If they played like they did tonight, there's not much you can improve on. Yeah, maybe get the running game going a little bit better. Maybe get the defense cleaned up a little bit better and get used to not having that critical piece in the middle linebacker field. But other than that, they played a pretty well-rounded game tonight. And I'm kind of happy to report that Dallas looked like a, they didn't look as good as they did in week one, but they did look like a contender for the playoffs tonight. Yeah, well that's what they always do. They always look like a contender until they run up against a buzzsaw. They're gonna do well against teams like the Chargers and then they're going to collapse when it matters most. But until then, congrats on the Monday night win. It was impressive and it was a fun game.
Interesting week six, I think the story coming out of it besides all the injuries, which we'll talk about, is the two undefeated went down. The Eagles and the 49ers both got beat by opponents that. I don't think they expected to get beat by the 49ers lost to the Browns 19 to 17 and the Eagles lost to the New York Jets 20 to 14 Ryan which of the two undefeated teams had the worst loss in week six This is a really tough question for me because up until about five minutes before our show started, I was thinking that I was going to pick the Eagles. And then I started looking at the 49ers and I'm like, wow, they lost to the Browns. But they did, it seemed like a closer game with the 49ers. And I think that they are playing a better defense with the Browns than the Jets. I know the Jets defense is really good, but I still believe that the loss here for the Eagles is more embarrassing because you're playing up against the Jets who They had Zach Wilson and look I'll be the first to admit we have an embarrassing lost against the Jets as well being a Bills fan the first game of the year where every odd was against the Jets yet, they still managed to win and the Jets came in here and beat the Eagles and you know a lot of the stats that you look at the The stats here, a lot of them are very similar. They both had time of possession the same. Not a whole lot of the Eagles and the Jets. A lot of it's the same going down this list here. But for some reason, the Eagles defense just didn't do what it needed to do to stop Zach Wilson, to stop this Jets offense. And they got themselves in a pinch. And you know, it really, it paid off for the Jets, but. When you talk about teams that you didn't think should win a game, nobody, I don't think anybody had the Jets potentially winning against the Eagles this weekend. At least I didn't. I think the Eagles are just still struggling to find their identity. I don't think they know what they want to be But they well they couldn't run the football at all Swift had like 18 yards Hertz had a few Hertz when you look at the stat sheet in the game He had three interceptions, which was bad. Okay, but one of them was like kind of a tip ball The last one was bad I actually don't think Jalen Hurts played as bad as the stat sheet looks and as some people are gonna say he played The Jets give every quarterback problems. Josh Allen was awful against them. Patrick Mahomes had two interceptions against them. The Jets have a legit defense. They give you problems. But the Eagles kind of mismanaged the game. They really could have taken more clock off of it at the end of the game. They could have probably kept the Jets from scoring at the end by giving them a longer field. I thought the Eagles kind of got on their back foot and just made mistake after mistake and let the Jets hang around. And the story of that game is a... sacks because not even sacks it's just pressures. Jalen Hurts was running for his life. The Jets defensive line dominated the Eagles offensive line and we talk about how good the Eagles are up front. Well they got taken to task. I mean they got beat down in this game. Hurts was pressured 20 times. 17 of those pressures came from a four man rush. So the Jets have such a deep Defensive core they're able to rotate guys in left and right and left and right So late third quarter when your offensive line is gassed and starting to wear out They've got fresh bodies in there and if you go back and you watch that game Jaylen Hertz is running for his life They just couldn't get anything going really they couldn't ever stretch the lead to be comfortable and credit to the Jets defense for keeping him in the game I think that might be a worse loss because For the 49ers the Browns are the best defense in the league They're one of the best defenses of the past couple years as we stand right now The 49ers actually just got beat up like the 49ers and Browns game was a physical match in the rain You know Browns missing their quarterback and they're running back 49ers ended up losing Debo and they're running back and the Browns just straight-up punch the 49ers in the mouth over and over again and they beat him down. The Browns were more physical than them and they won the game and even that might sound worse but to me I can live with that. I can live with saying hey we just got out physicaled versus the Eagles saying we kind of dropped the ball you know what I mean? Right out physical and I like that Yeah, they dropped the ball three times into the Jets hands and that's really kind of what did him in I believe Turnovers tend to not work in your favor in the NFL it turns out Well, there you go, but you know, we're talking about the Jets and you know, they've managed to Miraculously make it to three and three all odds against him Aaron Rodgers out. By the way, throwing the football right now, just I'm not saying that he will come back this season, but there's a, there's a slimmer, a glimmer of hope that he does. He went into the darkness and came out rejuvenated and Achilles healed.
But look, you talk about this team, you talk about how good their defense is, their defensive line performed very well against the Eagles. One of the best offensive lines. in the NFL. They're 3-3 with Zach Wilson. The question is, are they a legit playoff team? I think they are. That's not saying I think they will make it, but that's saying I think they can the way they've been playing. Because they beat...just this opening stretch of games, this first six weeks, this was going to be crazy with Aaron Rodgers. Let alone without him and having to bring Zach Wilson in. Buffalo at Dallas, New England, Kansas City, at Denver, Philadelphia, bye. The fact that they came out, if they came out of that three and three with Aaron Rodgers playing, we would have said, hey, Jets are in pretty good shape. So the fact that they were able to do it with Zach Wilson, I really think Robert Sala deserves a ton of credit. I don't know how much credit he's gonna get. You know, obviously he's a defensive guy. He came from the 49ers. He was with Shanahan. He has got the Jets defense going in and winning games for him. They know that their offense can't score a lot of points. And they say, we're gonna put this team on our back. and we're gonna win some games for us. And even when they don't win, like the Chiefs game, I mean, they play it down to the wire. The Jets aren't gonna get, as I said, out physicaled very often. They're not gonna get punched in the mouth and surprised. I think that defense is so good, they can line up and beat anybody in the league. Because the fact that they've already lined up opposite Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, and they've won two of those games, that tells me that they can beat anybody in the league. Also, Zach Wilson is playing better, Ryan. He is not an MVP. He is not the number two overall pick as he should be, because that's what he was. He doesn't look that good, but he is not making the idiotic mistakes that he was. It's not where you're scared any time he throws the ball. He's semi-competent now, and that seems like a knock, but that's all we need him to be, is Zach Wilson can just be kinda competent most of the time. then the Jets are a dangerous football team. And with the way this season is going, there's no one really extremely dominant and planting their flag atop the AFC or the NFC. I think the Jets have as good a shot as anybody with that defense, wouldn't you say? I believe so. I mean, we've seen defense win games several times in recent games, honestly. And you know, usually we talk about these divisions and these NFL teams being an offensive league nowadays. And this year, you and I have both said it, there's really no one team that stands out as just like this big gash or team besides Miami. And Miami has its own defensive struggles, right? Miami has the piece on offense but not defense. But you look at most of these other teams and their defenses are stepping up. We aren't seeing these super high scoring games, again outside of Miami. You know, we're seeing these low scoring games. We'll talk about one in a minute with the Bills. We... Miami, they were held down by the Patriots. You know, like they've had their moments. The 49ers, they have it. You're right, we're not seeing the offensive explosion that we're used to seeing. I don't know if the numbers back that up or not, but I agree, it feels like that. It feels like the defenses are in more control and it's more wide open. So because the way you took that, I'm gonna skip a question, because we've got this on the script. Is it safe to say that there's no clear Super Bowl front runner right now? because now that the 49ers and the Eagles have lost, a lot of these, the fact that the Browns defense and the Jets defense can win them games, is there a front runner? Or do you think it's a collection of teams that it could swing either way? Because I don't see a front runner right now. I really don't. Yeah, I mean, I still have to lean to the 49ers because again, yeah, a little bit because they were pretty beaten up. And I'm not going to go down the Brock Purdy Road right here. I'm just not going to do it because that's not, that's not, I don't lean, I don't lean their way because of him. I lean their way because of all the other pieces around him. I've never once leaned any way toward the 49ers for a quarterback aside from Joe Montana. And so. happens when he's gotta win the game for ya. Didn't work out too well. without two of his biggest offensive weapons on the field. But, you know, whatever. And he still almost won it. But I will say that I think the 49ers still have the best all-around team. I didn't think any team was going to go undefeated this entire season. But I didn't think that the 49ers would... You know, honestly, now, like, looking back, if I had to, like, go back through the schedule and pick a team that the 49ers may lose to... The Browns would probably be in the top three because I think they just matched up well against that offense. I think their defense is just that good. And you know, it's not that the 49ers defense didn't hold up. You know, it did pretty well. But I think that the 49ers are still that top front runner. But you know, you're seeing these other teams come out of the Woodworks now. And you know, you got Dallas coming up, which nobody has faith in them. I still don't. But you... Brock Purdy got outplayed by PJ Walker. But yeah, let's see, anybody could win it all, absolutely. They can't beat a former XFL quarterback, but that's all right, that's all right. They got Christian McCaffrey, right? Such a, I'm just glad the conversation's over with that. We can stop pretending he's an elite or special quarterback. With your point though, would you put Detroit there? Because I think Detroit could beat San Francisco. I'm not saying they would, but they can. They could... They could carry their own through that game, that's for sure. Well, honestly, I think there's a couple of teams that would match up against San Francisco's defense really well. And that's Detroit and that's Miami. I think obviously Miami could put points on anybody at any given day. Problem is Miami's defense sucks. You know, they couldn't stop them. all offenses matched up against San Francisco's defense. I think Miami and the Lions spelled trouble for them. And so it's gonna be interesting to see if we ever get to see any of those matchups. I don't know if they even play this season. I don't think they do, but yeah. If Kansas City and San Francisco played right now, who would you lean? Everybody healthy. Really. Out of neutral field, just saying. I'd win San Francisco. I think that defense is just too, too good, man, against these, like, this receiving core in Kansas City. I know you got Patrick Mahomes, and obviously they very well could win it, right? But if you're just asking me to tilt the scale one way or the other, I'm going to go to the 49ers right now. Fully healthy. I think the Chiefs defense would give Brock Purdy fits. I think that Chiefs defense is special because they're one of those teams, right? It's kind of 49ers, Lions, Chiefs, Dolphins, right? But it's back to our original point what we just said you just said that their defense would give them fits It's a defensive league this year, man It just seems that way and I don't know I would have to go back and look at like previous seasons and see kind of where Like total offensive points scored all year long versus defensive or you know The way it feels the atmosphere you talked about the Bills defense is good. The the Lions defense is pretty good the Browns defense is amazing the Jets yeah? you look at all these teams and everybody's got a good defense man and And I think that's we haven't had these like huge Prospects come out of the last couple of drafts like these high scoring prospects So I think that kind of helps people get better draft Items on the defensive side of the ball. So I think people have done because we send a lot of rookies step up this year too and defensively I think we still see plenty of that offensively. I think you're starting to notice even more the discrepancy between offensive line and defensive line play. There's so many more, and I think Chris Sam started talking about this like a year or two ago, so obviously I didn't come up with this, but he was talking about it, and it makes sense. There are so many more talented and overpowering defensive linemen and edge rushers than there are. guards, you know, and centers and tackles because like if you're an athlete we're putting you on defense and letting you rush the passer so Most of these offensive lines get outmatched at some point, but it's gonna be interesting to follow I think while I agree with you I do think it feels more of a defensive league right now and I feel good because the Chiefs have a really good defense you probably feel good because the Bills have a really good defense, but It seems like it's gonna swing back and regardless of the defenses even like take the Chiefs Jets game for example Yeah, it was defenses going at it, but my home's still through for 300 yards and had to win the game. When it comes down to the big games and the playoffs and in the Super Bowl, your quarterback's gonna have to make a play, regardless of how good your defense is. But so far, me and you being defensive-minded guys, I'm loving it. It's a really fun and surprising NFL season.
So with that said, I wanna swap and ask you about your team for a second. The Bills, they played on Sunday night. They played the Giants and escaped. with a win. what we're gonna call what we did on Sunday night? Play? Escape, play. So yeah, you're probably more critical than I am, but I want to ask you, so they beat the Giants 14 to 9 That's two back-to-back lackluster performances offensively for the Bills Okay versus the Jaguars and now versus the Giants with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. Are we worried about the Bills offense now? I am, which I've kind of alluded to this for the past couple of weeks that really the past couple of seasons ever since the coin toss game Brian Day Ball's last offensive coordinator job game at the Bills before he went on to play the Giants or to be the head coach of the Giants Josh Allen in this offense They haven't looked the same Go back and watch all the film post and pre Brian Dayball. It's different, it's just different. So I had a feeling that the Giants were gonna play close because I think Dayball knows this offense and how Josh Allen works. I didn't think it would be this close. Wink Martindale just shut us down in the first three quarters. I mean, just completely shut us down. Now, we did the same and there was a huge blunder, the whole Tyrod Taylor blunder, where Brian Dayball was just throwing clipboards and headsets and everything, getting, yep. Taylor turned option to the run play instead of doing a pass. Right. I call some of the game. so bad Well, you say it cost in the game. We just don't know how that would all shake out But the likelihood is that it would have cost in the game But what I want to point out to you Yeah, but it could have played out different if they had three points and you know there's all kinds of things that could have gone into affect that final score, but When you look at This bill's offense I don't think Ken Dorsey is the answer. I really don't. And I don't. to agree with you. I don't know how much I'll... I don't know yet. I don't know if I'm ready to go there, but... he's not opening up Josh Allen the way Josh Allen needs to play. If you go back and watch how the offense was ran under day ball, he understood Josh Allen, he knew what he needed to succeed, he knew the plays that made sense, and now, like, you got a running back switch, right? And then McDermott's like, well, James Cook is still young. It's weird moves, weird play calling. I think they had like a was it fourth and one if I'm not mistaken I have to go back and look like a fourth and one and like you have one of the best running quarterbacks in the league and a powerhouse and you choose to like Do a run play or some option play? Instead of just doing like one of those push plays like Philadelphia does it's just like little things like that you're starting To see that it just doesn't quite make sense Obviously Josh Allen made a few mistakes, you know but that's the point though. With Dayball, he... Dayball was the only guy that Josh Allen has not made those mistakes with. Josh Allen, his whole career has been really impressive, wow athletic ability, but then mix it with a bunch of boneheaded plays and boneheaded decisions. With Dayball, he didn't do that. did not, that's what I'm saying. The year he played with A-Ball, the year where the Bills made a name for themselves and they were coming into the 2022 season projected to win the Super Bowl, you know everybody was talking about them, me included, like, oh it's locked, done, sealed, mail the trophy to Buffalo, it's done. And then they completely fell apart. And I know they had a whole lot of adversity that year, but still, even offensively, they struggled. Like crazy and josh allen was a huge part of that and he just doesn't play the same It's like it's like losing your comfort blanket and brian dayball being that comfort blanket I think you're right, but I also attribute it, which this is hand in hand with what you're saying. You lose day ball, you bring in Dorsey. It's not that I think Dorsey is bad. I haven't gone and examined too much Buffalo film. I did watch a little of the Giants film, the All 22, to try and piece it together. Just from what I've seen, it's kind of the same opinion I've had of the Bengals from time to time. They'll go through phases. I just don't think the Bills offense has a lot of creativity to it. Like there was... There was a couple plays in there where they lined up like second and seven and they ran, you know, two go routes and a curl It's just they don't utilize motion enough. They don't Utilize motion to create matchups enough that are favorable for them their route concepts They don't do a lot to create rub routes. It seems like I could be Totally wrong just from what I the little bit I studied at that Giants game I'm just not seeing anything that wows me in the offensive play calling is that fair from someone who watches them closer than I do? Very much so it's kind of like the bingles, you know We talked about them having so much talent and just not being creative like the thing is Buffalo has The talent and they have these receivers that can play besides Stefan Diggs Like obviously we know he can play but Gabe Davis can play Shakir or what's his last name? He can play really good. James Cook is a pretty good pass catching back good statement, but okay. Well, he can play good enough to move the ball downfield. I mean, he's an NFL starting receiver. But the thing is, they're just not dispersing the ball in these creative plays. The play action looks sloppy and like one dimensional. There's a whole lot of things that go in to this offense that just doesn't look right. You know, it just, it makes you scratch your head and, you know. And Josh Allen misses a bunch of layups. Like he makes so many wild plays and then he misses the easy layup. That play action boot, where I think it was Dawson Knox, he had open and he just under threw him by like two yards. That would have ended the game. And he just, no pressure, nothing on the run. We've seen him make throws a hundred times harder and he messes it up. That's the stuff he's gotta find a way to fix. And if you want to say Ken Dorsey can't fix it, maybe that's not fair to put it all on Dorsey, but. Then something's got to change because we can't keep putting ourselves in this position also McDermott who I've been actually Pleased with this year. He's done great calling the defense I think he's done a lot better this season as a coach overall than he did last year But the decision at the end of the game to try the field goal instead of punting I thought was ridiculous I really didn't get that I understand if you get the three points, okay, but The Giants haven't been able to score. Like they can't score a touchdown. Why are you gonna give them the football at the 40 or whatever? Just punt it out of bounds, make them go 90 yards. I thought that was a move that, like, such a bad decision and almost cost them the game. Do you think, and I want your opinion, because from an outsider perspective, do you think Buffalo has a chance to not only make the playoffs, but make it through the playoffs? Because the game that they played against the Giants, man, let me just recap this to you before you answer this question, okay? And remember the Giants, they were hurt, like they had players going down left and right defensively on the defensive line, like that was the big question. It wasn't supposed to be as good as it was. Tyra Taylor was the quarterback like there were several factors that you thought this was gonna be a runaway game also at Buffalo which That's another story The bills when they had the ball punt fumble punt miss field goal interception touchdown miss field goal Answer my question, do you think they have a shot in the playoffs or through the playoffs? Yeah, because I don't it goes back to what we were talking about earlier because no team has Shown that they are dominant if but buffalo's defense is great So if their defense keeps playing great, then I think they can be in any game They they want to be in I would love to see Kansas City and Buffalo. I think we're going to see that right? Yeah week 14. I'd love to see the chiefs defense versus the bills defense because Patrick mahomes hasn't been spectacular this year. He's made some boneheaded mistakes too. So I think the Bills could win on any given Sunday right now. You asking me that question at the end of week six, yes I think they could win any playoff game because no one has set themselves apart but as the season progresses, as other teams get better, as other teams start to find that rhythm offensively, Buffalo is gonna have to find it as well or they're gonna get left behind. With Josh Allen though you're gonna be in it right and with that defense you're gonna be in it. You just gotta be able to close it out and not make the silly mistakes. And you can't wait until the third quarter to get your offense going. Because that's been the problem the last two weeks against the Jaguars. They didn't get anything going offensively until late third, fourth quarter. Same against the Giants. They couldn't score until the end of the third quarter. You gotta come out and start strong. If Buffalo's offense comes out and starts strong, I think they can beat anybody in the league.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Ryan, they held on to beat the Seahawks 17 to 13 the Bengals improved to 3 and 3 knocked the Seahawks to 3 and 2 you were skeptical you weren't ready I told you I said Ryan it's time we saw it I'm not going to be too late to jump on the bandwagon I was on board I was holding a hand out, you know, in the movies, the trains going, you were running alongside it. I was saying, take my hand, you wouldn't do it. I ask you now, will you admit that the mingles are back? I don't... Back? No. I don't think that they are back to end of the year style performance. End of 2022 season, that is. I don't think they're back to that yet. And I think the stats would back me up here. It's not like they had, yeah, they didn't have a phenomenal game offensively by any means. And that's really where we're putting the focus right now is the Bengals back offensively. And- To me, it's no. I mean, Joe Burrow threw for 185 yards. He had an interception in two touchdowns. Like, he didn't play a stellar game by any means. Sure did, and that got him a win. But I don't think that this was enough for me to say, yeah, the Bengals are back and feel confident. Are they better than they were in week one through three? Absolutely, yeah. They seem to be clicking more offensively and defensively for that matter. They're not letting teams run up scores on them like crazy like they were earlier in this season. So I think they are not back, but they are better. But when I ask are they back, I don't mean are they as good as they were at the end of last season. No, no, no. They're back in a position where they could easily make a deep playoff run. Because we were, me and you both were sitting here sounding the alarm when they were 1-3 or whatever, saying this isn't good. And if they, remember I said on the show, I said if they don't beat the Seahawks, it's bad. I said they have to win this. The Seahawks game because they've got the by and they've got Buffalo in San Francisco They still need to win at least one of those games But the fact that they've been able to climb out of the hole and find themselves at 500 Going into their week 7 by I think that says a lot about the resiliency of Joe burrow and Jamar chase and this team and Credit where credit is due that Bengals defense won that football game Joe burrow was fine But this was another to our point defensive football game. It was defense. Seattle had so many opportunities. Another thing we talked about earlier in the show, the Seahawks missed out on so many points in the red zone. Geno threw an interception in the end zone one time. I think they went for it on a fourth down. It was just missed opportunities for the Seattle Seahawks. And then at the end of the game, the Seahawks got in the red zone twice and the Bengals stopped them on fourth downs to seal the game. Credit to that Bengals defense and that pass rush. I agree with you. They're not back into full perfect Bengals form, but they are back in a position to make the playoffs and they kind of are controlling their own destiny Which is where they need to be they dodged a bullet with the whole Jo Burrow calf debacle and now they get to go rest up and get ready to face San Francisco in week eight.
Alright, before we sign off Ryan, just wanted to go over some injury stuff real quick. A lot of big injuries this week. Jimmy Garoppolo, he was taken to the hospital with a back injury. They said it's not as bad as they first thought. However, anytime Jimmy G plays a football game, he is going to get injured. Just as sure as Santa Claus is going to come on the 24th. Alright, Jimmy G is going to have some sort of injury. Who cares about the Raiders? Sorry Raiders fans. Justin Fields dislocated his thumb on his throwing hand. No surgery was expected, but there's no time on return. He's probably gonna be out a couple weeks. I am interested to see where that puts this organization and this franchise later in the year as it comes toward draft time. I don't think it affects their season, obviously, but I do think it affects their future. Ryan Tannehill for the Titans, they lost to the Ravens in London. He had an ankle injury similar to last year. They said it's possible for him to play, but I'm gonna guess not. And if not, We're going to get Malik Willis or Will Levis. Look, Malik Willis has not looked good. I say let Levis go and just see what he can do. It might be bad, but let's just see. One injury, maybe not enough people are talking about. Trevor Lawrence had a knee, quote, sprain, and they said it's, quote, not a significant thing. The problem is they play Thursday night against the Saints and he's probably not going to be ready to go. I would rest him if I was. the Jaguars just to be safe because week eight they've got to go to Pittsburgh and then week nine they've got the bye. So let's just get to the bye with Trevor Lawrence healthy, right? I think that would be the smart move. your quarterback or not. Right, if you're questioning it, maybe just let him sit. Especially if you've got to play the Saints. I think you can maybe handle them without it. The 49ers, Christian McCaffrey left the game with an oblique injury. 49ers have been kind of tight lipped, but speculation is it isn't serious. We really don't know. I expect he might miss a game or two, but we'll kind of keep our eye on that. A big, big injury, David Montgomery. I agree completely. I think this is huge. We've talked about how good the Detroit Lions have looked. We've talked about really how dominant, out of all these teams, save the 49ers, the Lions have been the only other team in the NFC. Obviously the Dolphins look great. The Lions and the 49ers are the two NFC teams that have looked dominant offensively, right? Jared Goff has been fantastic. David Montgomery has been electric and elite. He has a cartilage issue and will be out for, quote, a little bit, not looking good for David Montgomery. Also, Jameer Gibbs hasn't been playing the past couple games. So this could actually Drastically affect where the Lions go as this season progresses. I'm hoping the best for them Debo Samuel had an injury I couldn't find much on that. I don't think it is that severe but a lot of Injuries to keep our eye on as we head into week seven It's early in the season and we talk about teams not liking these early buys, but I know some of these teams are liking them an update on today or yesterday, Anthony Richardson is going to go forward with the shoulder surgery, meaning that he will likely be out the rest of the season, which is unfortunate because I was hoping that he would have a, just a stellar rookie year. I mean, he has up until this point. Um, another thing to keep an eye on though, I will mention is the LA Rams backfield, uh, Kyron Williams had an ankle tweak is what they called it. Also his backup Ronnie Rivers is also gonna miss a few weeks with a PCL strain So look to that Rams backfield because they rely on it very heavily And if they don't have either one of these guys, it's gonna spell trouble for the Rams Last I heard, Kyron Williams will miss one week, but shouldn't miss more. So he's probably going to miss the Steelers game, but he should be back week eight. We will monitor that closely because Kyron Williams has been kind of one of the breakout stars for the Rams this season, and they're going to need him if they want to be in contention as the season goes along.
All right. That's all we got for you. Thanks for being with us. As always, that's my friend Ryan. I am Tristan. We're here with you normally every Monday and Thursday. Sorry for being a day late. We'll see you on Thursday. predict some of the week 7 games and go over our weekly picks. Have a safe week, we'll see you then. Goodbye.